Light My Candle
by Caroline
Summary: [HodginsAngela, the first of its kind, I think!] Jack Hodgins meets his new coworker, Angela Montenegro.


TITLE: Light My Candle  
PAIRING: Hodgins/Angela, or should we call them... Hodgela! Ha. I am SO making up that name for the pairing, because they're totally a pairing. Hodgela, Hodgela, Hodgela.  
SUMMARY: Jack Hodgins meets his new co-worker, Angela Montenegro.  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is my very first fic for the Hodgela pairing. I'm hoping it won't be my only one, since they're such a fun, flirty pair (but obviously not as awesome as BB!), but we'll see what you guys think of it. Some of the dialogue will look quite familiar to several of you readers (if the title didn't already), and the reason why will be explained at the end of this fic. Enjoy!

* * *

Jack Hodgins squinted his blue eyes through the rain pelting him from every angle, struggling to make out the outline of the Medico-Legal Lab at the Jeffersonian. He opened the trunk of his Mini-Coop as quickly as he could and grabbed his box of belongings before slamming the trunk and making a mad dash for the doors.

Once inside, he wiped his boots on the rug and shook his curl-topped head like a dog shaking off water. He smiled at the stoic security guard. "Should I take this as a sign of bad luck on my first day?"

The security guard said nothing, merely gesturing toward another set of doors, and Jack raised his eyebrows briefly at the lack of response before following the direction he was given. "Yeah, this is turning out to be a stellar first day," he sighed.

* * *

"And here is your office, Dr. Hodgins," Daniel Goodman, administrator to the Jeffersonian's Medico-Legal Lab, announced as he gestured to the empty office.

His bright blue eyes surveyed the large, modern-looking office. While readjusting his rain-spattered cardboard box of belongings, Jack nodded his approval. "This is great. Thank you, sir."

"You're welcome. And here..." He held out several candles of different sizes, smiling good-naturedly. "The storm's getting pretty powerful out there. Our back-up generator is already working full-force, so don't be surprised if we end up losing power."

Jack took the candles with a nod of gratitude. "Thanks, sir. I'll keep these handy."

"Good." Goodman headed for the door and turned over his shoulder a moment. "Once you're settled in then, Dr. Hodgins, why don't you come out and I'll introduce you to the people you'll be working with."

"Sure thing."

He was left alone for no more than five minutes when the lights began to blink, and finally go out. He sighed. "Yeah, definitely gonna be a great first day." He shook his head and lit a couple candles, enough to give him light to finish unpacking his things.

He vaguely heard Dr. Goodman's deep, booming voice coming from somewhere near the center of the lab, instructing everyone to stay in their offices for the time-being. Jack raised his brows and muttered to himself, "No problem there," and went over to close the door before going about his business.

No more than another five minutes later, a knock sounded on his door. Jack glanced up and tried to make out the figure on the other side of the frosted glass. He finally gave up and went to open it, his jaw going slightly slack when he saw a woman on the other side.

She was lovely -- dark hair, dark eyes -- and looked somewhat familiar. She held up a candle, arched a perfectly-shaped brow and queried, "Got a light?"

He furrowed his brow. "I know you... I think. Come in. Why are you shivering?"

She chuckled. "It's nothing. I'm a freeze-baby."

"A what?"

She smiled, and the sheer brightness of it, even in the near-dark, took his breath away for a moment. "A freeze-baby," she repeated, watching him retrieve a matchbook from his jacket pocket. "Someone who gets cold easily."

Jack held out his jacket to the pretty stranger. "You want this?"

She declined politely with a shake of her head. "No thanks. I'll be fine." She held out the candle in her hand again. "Would you light my candle?"

"Of course. Sorry." He lit the match with one strike and raised it to the wick of her candle, meeting her eyes as it lit.

After a moment had passed, she broke the silence, her tone curious. "What are you staring at?"

He shook his head quickly, as if shaking off a trance. "Nothing. Your, uh... your hair in the moonlight..." He stopped himself again before he went too far, and threw an almost-accusatory glance up at the moonlight filtering in through the high windows. He turned back to his mysterious companion. "You really look familiar. Did I see you in the lobby?"

"Maybe," she replied cryptically, giving another of those breathtaking smiles before backing up a step with her now-lit candle.

Jack watched as she walked around his office, taking in the fixtures with a narrow-eyed, contemplative gaze. "Nice digs," she commented. "I've never been in here before."

When she turned over her shoulder, she caught him looking at her, and she chuckled. It was a musical sound. "What?"

He shook his head again as she came toward him. "Nothing. Your smile just reminded me of--"

She rolled her eyes, "I always remind people of--" and looked up at him again, "who is she?"

Jack cast his gaze to his desk. "Nobody. Doesn't matter, she dumped me." After a moment, he sighed in resignation and looked up to meet her imploring, dark gaze. "Her name was April."

Her dark hair fanned out around her as she spun on her heel, the momentum effectively blowing her candle out. She immediately turned back to him wearing a frown. "It's out again."

Jack stood perfectly still, almost enraptured by this complete stranger as she walked toward him adding, "And I'm... I'm sorry, about your girlfriend. Getting dumped sucks."

"Yeah, tell me about it."

She paused, twitched a little smile, and held out the candle again with a slight plea in her tone. "Would you light my candle, again?"

He chuckled. "Sure, here." He struck another match and held it to the wick, their eyes catching again as it lit. He held her gaze as he pulled the match away and shook it, extinguishing the flame. "Well..."

She took a step forward. "Yeah? Ow!" She switched the candle to her other hand and drew one finger into her mouth.

Jack raised his brows, then realization hit. "Oh, the wax." He gently touched her hand and turned it over to inspect the burn on her finger. "It's--"

"Dripping," she finished for him. A sly smile tugged at her lips as she curled her fingers around his, and drew it toward her, touching it to her collarbone. She dragged it downward slowly. "I don't mind wax, but I kinda prefer it between my--"

He jerked his hand away just before it reached her cleavage. "Fingers? Yeah," he chuckled nervously, "I figured." He took a step back, on-edge now, and shrugged. "Oh, well. Thanks for stopping by."

She grinned slyly and brushed past him with her newly-lit candle and Jack sighed, spinning away from her and placing his hands on his hips while he shook his head.

The knock on his door startled him, and he spun to see the same dark-haired beauty in his doorway, leaning on the metal doorframe slightly. He raised his eyebrows at her. "It blew out again?"

She shook her head and stepped back inside his office. "No, I think I might've dropped my keys."

"I seriously think I might've seen you out and about somewhere." He watched her turn quickly and smiled at the effect it had. He nodded toward her candle. "Your candle's out."

She rolled her eyes and huffed. "I can't believe this. I need those keys! I know I had them when I walked in here..." She brushed past him and gave him a look when he gasped, then set her candle on his desk. She shrugged. "Maybe they're on the floor."

"The floor?"

He watched as she dropped to her hands and knees and began exploring his tile floor in the darkness. After a moment, he heard her low alto.

"Y'know..." She gave a flick of her dark, shiny hair and looked at him over her shoulder. "They say that I have the best ass in the entire Jeffersonian. Is it true?"

Jack's brows flicked toward his hairline. "What?"

Her grin was knowing. "You're staring again."

"Oh! No." He was putting his foot in his mouth. "I mean, you do... have a nice--I mean--" He stuttered and shook his head, deciding to help her look. "You look familiar."

They crawled in unison on separate sides of his desk as she responded, "Like your ex-girlfriend?"

"No, that's only when you smile," he told her, and grinned when she rolled her eyes. "I'm sure I've seen you someplace else, though."

"Do you ever hang out at The Bassment?" she asked, still looking around on the floor for her missing keys. "I'm there every so often."

Jack nodded. "Yeah, that's it. You're one of the girls that they put in the cages to dance, right?"

She rolled her eyes again. "You say that like it's a bad thing." Spotting her keys, she grabbed them and hooked them to her belt.

"It's not, I just..." He couldn't help the chuckle. "I didn't recognize you without the cage and the miniskirt."

She huffed again and rose on her haunches, pressing her palm to her knee in order to stand up. She grabbed her candle of his desk and held it out to him again. "Will you light my candle?"

Jack flipped open his matchbook to find it was empty, and he shrugged. "That was my last match."

"Oh, well." She slid the candle onto his desk again, then sat atop the cool, metallic surface. "Our eyes'll adjust." She nodded toward the high windows. "Thank God for the moon, huh? The storm must be clearing."

"Yeah." He jumped when he felt her hand reach for his.

"Hmm, cold hands," she commented nonchalantly.

Jack tried to keep his voice even as he replied, "Yours too." He watched her trepidatiously as she turned his hand this way and that, inspecting it.

"Big. Like my dad's. You wanna dance?" She gave a tug on his hand and pulled him into the center of the office with her.

He gulped, suddenly nervous again. "With you?"

She rolled her eyes, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "No, with my dad." She grinned after a moment. "I was only kidding anyway."

"Oh." He emitted another nervous chuckle, watching her watch him, before he stuck out his hand. "I'm, uh, Jack. Hodgins."

She smiled and took the proffered hand, shaking it as she replied in that smooth alto. "Angela... Montenegro."

He twitched a smile. She really was lovely in the moonlight, especially with the patterns of the rain playing across her face. "Nice to meet you."

"You too." She leaned in close for a moment, almost egging him on; then at the last second, she grabbed her candle off the desk and brushed past him, calling over her shoulder coyly, "See y'around... Jack." Then she was gone.

Jack let out his breath, and couldn't stop the smile from splitting his face. "Man," he murmured to his empty office, "this is the best first day ever."

And the lights flickered back on.

* * *

FINIS

* * *

_**MORE AUTHOR'S NOTES: **Got it figured out yet? Huh? Do ya? Hehe. I used the RENT song 'Light My Candle' as the backbone for this story. It's a coy, flirty song, and I figured it fit Angela and Hodgins. Hodgela. Spread that word around! Haha. _

I, of course, take no credit for the song 'Light My Candle' or for RENT in general. Nor do I take credit for the creation of Jack Hodgins, Angela Montenegro, or "Bones" in general. I DO, however, take total and complete credit for the creation of the name, Hodgela. Yay combo names. Pass it on. Oh yeah, all mistakes are mine, too. I just barely proofread it before I posted. Hope it's still okay! Let me know what you think, as always. Your guys' opinions are the ones I value the most:D


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